Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Encyclopedia
Kurmanbek Saliyevich Bakiyev (Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz language
Kyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...

: Курманбек Сали уулу Бакиев (Kurmanbek Sali Uulu Bakiev), Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: Курманбек Салиевич Бакиев; born 1 August 1949) is a politician who served as the second President
President of Kyrgyzstan
The President of Kyrgyzstan is the head of state and the highest official of Kyrgyzstan. The President, according to the constitution, "is the symbol of the unity of people and state power, and is the guarantor of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, and of an individual and citizen." The...

 of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...

, from 2005 to 2010. Large opposition protests in April 2010 led to the takeover of government offices, forcing Bakiyev to flee the country.

Bakiyev was the leader of the People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan
People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan
People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan is an electoral alliance formed on September 22, 2004 in Kyrgyzstan. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was chosen as the movement's Chairman at the alliance's November 5 founding congress. It was created to contest the February 2005 parliamentary elections.Following his...

 before his ascendance to the presidency. He received most of his popular support from the south of the country.

The Legislative Assembly of Kyrgyzstan of the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan
Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan
The Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan is the unicameral Parliament of Kyrgyzstan. It has 120 seats with members elected for a five-year term by party-list proportional voting.-History:...

 appointed him acting President on March 25, 2005, following the ousting, during the Tulip Revolution
Tulip Revolution
The Tulip Revolution or First Kyrgyz Revolution refers to the overthrow of President Askar Akayev and his government in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan after the parliamentary elections of February 27 and of March 13, 2005...

, of President Askar Akayev
Askar Akayev
Askar Akayevich Akayev served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 1990 until his overthrow in the March 2005 Tulip Revolution....

. In October 2007, Bakiyev initiated the creation of Ak Jol
Ak Zhol (Kyrgyzstan)
Ak Jol is a Kyrgyz political party founded by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on 15 October 2007 to contest the parliamentary election to be held in December 2007.It gained 71 of the 90 seats and was one the three parties to enter in the parliament....

 party, but could not lead it due to his presidency.

Tulip Revolution

Following the events of the 2005 Tulip Revolution
Tulip Revolution
The Tulip Revolution or First Kyrgyz Revolution refers to the overthrow of President Askar Akayev and his government in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan after the parliamentary elections of February 27 and of March 13, 2005...

, Bakiyev won the 10 July ballot
Kyrgyz presidential election, 2005
Kyrgyzstan held a presidential election on 10 July 2005. It saw a landslide victory for acting President Kurmanbek Bakiev, marking the end of his interim government formed after the previous President, Askar Akayev, was overthrown in the revolution in March, 2005.-Post revolution transition:On...

 for the Presidential election with 89% of the vote with a 53% turnout.

President

Despite initial hopes, Bakiyev's term in office was marred by the murder of several prominent politicians, prison riot
Prison riot
A prison riot is an act of concerted defiance or disorder by a group of prisoners against the prison administrators, prison officers, or other groups of prisoners in attempt to force change or express a grievance....

s, economic ills and battles for control of lucrative businesses. In 2006, Bakiyev faced a political crisis as thousands of people participated in a series of protests in Bishkek. He was accused of not following through with his promises to limit presidential power, give more authority to parliament and the prime minister, and eradicate corruption and crime. Bakiyev claimed that the opposition was plotting a coup against him.

In April 2007, the opposition held protests demanding Bakiyev's resignation, with a large protest beginning on April 11 in Bishkek. Bakiyev signed constitutional amendments to reduce his own power on April 10, but the protest went ahead, with protesters saying that they would remain until he resigned. Clashes broke out between protesters and police on April 19, after which the protests ended.

Over the years, the relationship between China and Kyrgyzstan has grown. The number of Chinese students in Kyrgyzstan has risen. There is even a plan for a high-speed rail to connect the two countries.

In February 2009, while in Moscow, Bakiyev announced the eviction of the US Air Base from Kyrgyzstan, right after a meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, during which Russia promised a investment.

Bakiyev was re-elected in the 2009 presidential election.

After the re-election in 2009, some people in Kyrgyzstan said that he would now deal with political and economic reform. Others were skeptical. The Eurasian Daily Monitor wrote on September 10 that his style resembled other leaders such as Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

 and Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...

. However, he lacked resources and Kyrgyz people were anxious about the risk of renewed power shortages and blackouts like in the winter 2008–2009.

During the winter of 2010 Kyrgyzstan has suffered from rolling blackouts and cutoffs occurring regularly while energy prices have risen.

In January 2010 Kyrgyzstan sent a delegation to China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 to discuss improved economic relations.
Kyrgyzstan national electric company Natsionalnaya electricheskaya syet and the Chinese Tebian Electric signed a contract to build the Datka-Kemin 500 kv power transmission lines. This would have reduced Kyrgyzstan's dependence on the Central Asian power system. The delegation was led by Bakiyev's son.

In February 2010 Kyrgyzstan had to raise energy tariffs. Heating costs were reportedly going to rise 400 percent and electricity by 170 percent.

Russia backed his government until March 2010. The Eurasian Daily Monitor reported on April 1 that, for two weeks, the Kremlin had used the Russian mass media to run a negative campaign against Bakiyev. Russia controls much of the media in Kyrgyzstan. The sudden campaign coincided with Bakiyev's failure to carry out Russia's various demands related to things such as military bases.
On April 1 Russia also imposed duties on energy exports to Kyrgyzstan. It influenced fuel and transport prices immediately, and reportedly led to a massive protest in Talas on April 6.

2010 coup

In April 2010, after bloody riots in the capital overturned the government, Bakiyev reportedly fled to the southern city of Osh
Osh
Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". The city is at least 3,000 years old, and has served as the administrative center of Osh Province since 1939...

. The head of the new provisional government, Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politican who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011. She was sworn in on July 3, 2010, after acting as interim leader following the 2010 April revolution which led to the ousting of then President Kurmanbek...

, declared that Bakiyev had not resigned and was trying to rally support. On April 13, 2010, Bakiyev said he was willing to resign the presidency if his security was guaranteed. On April 15, 2010, at 19:00, Bakiyev left Kyrgyzstan for Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

, having signed a resignation letter. Otunbayeva stated that she would press ahead to bring Bakiyev to trial.

On April 20, the Belarussian president, Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...

 told his parliament that "Bakiyev and his family, four people in all, have been in Minsk since Monday evening, as guests...Today they are here under the protection of our state, and personally of the president."

On April 21, Kurmanbek Bakiyev held a press conference in Minsk and stated "I, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, am the legally elected president of Kyrgyzstan and recognised by the international community. I do not recognise my resignation. Nine months ago the people of Kyrgyzstan elected me their president and there is no power that can stop me. Only death can stop me," and called Otunbayeva's administration an "illegitimate gang".

Parliamentary elections of 2010

Ata-Zhurt
Ata-Zhurt
Ata-Zhurt, sometimes Ata-Jurt, , or Fatherland, is a political party in Kyrgyzstan. Its political base is in the south of the country, but the party is headquartered in the capital Bishkek...

, a party campaigning for bringing Kurmanbek Bakiyev back to power, won 28 out of 120 seats in Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary elections of 2010
Kyrgyzstani parliamentary election, 2010
An early parliamentary election was held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 October 2010. All 120 seats of the Jogorku Kenesh were elected by using a party list system...

, outperforming all competitors.

Family

During his time as president, several Bakiyev family members had prominent positions in the government, with at least five close relatives working in the upper echelons of power. His brother Janysh Bakiyev was head of the presidential guard, brother Marat Bakiyev was Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to Germany, and another brother Adyl Bakiyev was an adviser to Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to China.

Since the overthrow, Maksim Bakiyev, the younger son of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has been charged with embezzlement and abuse of power by the interim government. It is suspected that he transferred about $35 million of a $300 million loan from Russia into his private bank accounts. When the revolt took place, Bakiyev was headed to the US for a series of meetings in Washington. On June 14, 2010, Maksim was arrested in the UK when he landed at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire in a privately hired jet. The interim Kyrgyz government is demanding his extradition.

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